Hello My Old Friends
by TenchiSaWaDa
Summary: Repeat. Loop. Again. Only for you. Only for them. Keep going back for them. Each and every one of them. It doesn't have to be perfect. But it has to have them. Pairing: Lancaster


**Hello, My Old Friends**

* * *

**So this fic is a combination of RWBY and All you need is kill. But the actual mood of the story is inspired by my own life. I am going through some shitty times right now. I've tried a lot of things, put in a lot of effort in school and shit happens. It kind of sucks when you get told, No. Pick a different major. No. Even though you are so close, you don't get to pass. **

**But. Even though I am in this shitty period of my life. I realize, or at least come to realize, that life goes on. I wish I could go back and of course I have regrets. But the most important thing is to keep moving forward. And Going out to get what you want. **

**So guys, No matter how dire the situation, no matter how shitty it looks. Keep Fighting through it and Chase your goals.**

* * *

**So, This has been remastered. I have edited and added more parts to it. There were a couple scenes I decided not to do, but now I am adding them in.**

**6/13/2015**

* * *

_Breathe in. Breathe out. That's the only thing he could do. He felt the air being pushed into his mouth. His lungs pushing back tired air. Breathe in. Breathe out. He laid there, unmoving, staring at the ceiling. He was numb. He couldn't feel much anymore. _

_He had been alone for quite sometime. No one visited him in this small hospital room. There weren't a lot of people left. Sure, the remnants of his family dropped in once in a while. But, he didn't care for them. He didn't like the noise, anymore. So, even if no one visited him, at least, it was quiet. Silent. _

_Alone. _

_He didn't have to worry about the fight. It was done. Under lock and key. Didn't have to attend any more funerals. Didn't have to go to any mission briefings, debriefings and everything in between. Didn't have to clean his sword, and go to the emergency to treat his wounds, or check on someone. Didn't have to hear gun fire, Explosions, or _

_Screams. _

_A click at the door. Knob turning. Was it Weiss? Back again? Wasn't she busy with the fall out, the recovery, her own grief? The door opened slightly to the room, quiet clicks of shoes on the ground. A cane. _

"_Ozpin." Raspy voice, painful to talk. Lungs stung with pain. _

"_Been awhile." Scrape of the chair against the ground. Ozpin sat down next to the bed. His shoulders lacking their usual stiffness. His head bowed, eyes dim. Wrinkles on his face, from stress and age. _

"_It has." Turns head. Only thing he could do. _

"_I want to talk about something." Ozpin murmured, hands gripping his cane. He looked nervous. "Something crazy. A mission." _

"_I'm not in the best shape for a mission." Lying in this hospital bed. Weiss said she could give him prosthetics, but... "And I don't know if I'll be taking any missions either." _

"_Why?" A simple question. The hardest question._

"_Tired." Years of fighting. Years of Killing. Years of losing friends. "And I miss them." A smile. Laughter. Late nights of fun. Worrying together about tests._

"I miss her."

A kiss. A smile. Red cloak. Silver eyes.

_Ozpin nodded. "I do too." Ozpin looked into his eyes. _

"_What if I told you, we could get them back?"_

* * *

Ruby had to admit. Out of all her friends, Jaune was the strangest person. And she had made friends with Penny, that was saying something. She had come to this conclusion right after she had watched Cardin bully Jaune. Or more like attempt to bully him.

Jaune always had a smile on his face. It was kind of an amused smile, like he knew a little inside secret. And one of the more frustrating things, was that he always knew where they were. Ruby had even tried to sneak up on him one time, but he had spun out of the way as she tried to tackle him. Yang has joked that he had ESP or was an alien but it really did seem like he knew every time.

"You're a coward, Arc." Cardin growled, fists clenched. Shoulders square. Stood imposingly in front of Jaune. "You can't even hold your sword huh?" Cardin sneered. Ruby glared at him for all her worth, but didn't move to help Jaune. He never seemed to need it.

"I can't hold it" Jaune merely kept up his perpetual smile. "depending on the situation." His tone was light. Gentle. As if he was talking to an old friend, an old buddy.

"W-" Cardin stuttered. It always jarred them when they tried to speak with Jaune. His tone, that look in his eyes, always staggered them. Made them pause. He looked like the thought the world of them, and they barely knew each other. They barely knew Jaune. "What?" Cardin Shook his head. "You don't do anything during team sparring. All you do is dodge and block."

Ruby gripped her arm as she watched. During the team spars with the RWBY and JNPR, Jaune only used his shield to block their attacks. He would dodge when necessary and cover for his teammates. But, his blade would stay in it's sheathe. Glynda had reprimanded him several times for it.

But, Jaune didn't seem to care, because he kept his smile on his face. And it never felt disingenuous.

Ruby had pestered him about it, but Jaune had always waved her off. When she had asked Ren, Nora and Pyrrha about it, they said they didn't know either. Pyrrha did comment though that his blocking skills with a shield were familiar to her own, though how he knew her techniques, she didn't know.

Cardin grabbed the front of Jaune's uniform. He pulled forward and up. Jaune's had to stand on his tip toes to keep balance. Ruby almost started forward, ready to defend Jaune, until she saw Jaune's face. It looked sad? Why? Cardin paused, staring at Jaune. The small, smile. Thin, tiny. Bitter. Cardin's grip loosed slightly. He looked confused. Ruby couldn't blame him, Jaune had that effect on people.

"I fight to protect." Jaune said. "And _only_ to protect. Things like strength, infamy, and fame, they're trivial compared to what _I_ want." A shrug. "I just don't see the point."

Cardin pushed him, but it was more of a light shove. Jaune landed back on his feet, not even stumbling. The fire on Cardin's face flickered away slowly, dying down into embers. The taller hunter in training stared at Jaune, eyes sharp, roaming. A inquisitive gaze. "So what? You like being pushed around? There's always a point in defending yourself."

Another shrug, Jaune scratched the back of his head. "We both want to be hunters, right?" Jaune laughed, a happy smile back on his face. "Why fight each other. Spar each other, sure. But, actually fight? Save that for the grim, or criminals. I've got better ways to use my time."

Cardin straightened at the comment. Ruby almost thought he was going to punch Jaune but instead, Cardin let out a sigh of his own. "You're a strange guy, Arc." With that, Cardin turned and walked off. Jaune watched him go, his hand stuffed in his pockets.

Ruby took this as her cue to leave, so she quietly started shuffling backwards.

"Is that the little Red hood of team RWBY I spy?"

"Dang it." She mumbled as she looked back to see Jaune staring straight at her, an amused smile dancing on his lips. Ruby shuffled forward, giving Jaune a weak smile. She looked into his eyes and saw something glimmer. It made butterflies make a hurricane in her stomach and her heart rampage about. She looked away and resisted the urge to pull up her hood. It was a habit she got into when she got nervous, Yang had been trying to break her out of it.

"So. Caught me again, red handed." She started. It wasn't the only time he had caught her. There was the time she had stolen a cookie. Borrowed his armor to make an armored snow man. And she tried to die his hair black to see what would happen.

Jaune chuckled. "Yea. Like a kid and a cookie jar."

"Hey!" Ruby growled, thought it was a halfhearted one. "Cookies are too irresistible" She mumbled.

Jaune laughed at her. At this the younger leader felt her face flush, and she pulled her hood up quickly. "Shut up Jaune."

"Don't worry Ruby. Never grow out of your cookie addiction. It's one of your good points."

'What' She felt her heart skip a bit and then start drumming quickly. "N-not funny. Jaune. I have plenty of good points."

"Yea, you've got a lot of them." Jaune said. Ruby flushed. "Though I've always wondered. You like Chocolate chip right?"

Ruby nodded quickly, excited to be talking about one of her favorite subjects in the world. She could talk about cookies all day long. "And Vanilla chocolate."

"Hmm. I'll make some later. And some Strawberry cake. Nora's birthday is coming up soon." Jaune said looking up at the sky.

Ruby stared at him for a moment. Jaune always looked so different. But if you looked at what he did, he seemed to care so much. He always was there when she was having trouble with school work. Nora raved about how he made snacks for her, when she was hungry. Ren said he did _all_ of the laundry, without anyone knowing. And Pyrrha said _he helped_ her with training.

"You really make different first impressions." Ruby thought out loud, as she thought about her first meeting with Jaune and after finding the Relics. You could almost think as though there were two Jaune's.

Jaune shrugged, still holding onto that smile. "Well, sometimes things just have to change."

Ruby nodded, agreeing with the blonde. "Yea, But, hopefully for the better."

* * *

_Clang Clang Clang_. Weiss walked down the hall, towards the Training Arena, where the sound was coming from. She had just finished her homework and decided to let some steam off. Ruby had gone with Yang to go downtown and Blake was at the library. The Vytal tournament was coming up, so she wanted to get some training in.

Weiss walked into the Arena silently, reasoning that two people could share the space. She walked in, Myrtenaster at her hip. She looked around and, unsurprisingly, found Jaune training hard. She had heard 'tales' from team JNPR that when they weren't in class, studying, doing group assignments, he was training. Weiss has passed it off as an exaggeration but, over the months she had learned indeed he spent a good portion of his time training.

Strange. To think that the bumbling, _annoying_ boy she had met during the relics would actually be this strong. He aced all of his tests, easily, and slept through most of class. Everyone in combat class _felt_ that he could beat them, but he only blocked and parried. But, Weiss couldn't doubt Jaune's skill. Especially with the way he was training.

'It seems he really has a heavy regiment.' Weiss eyed the stadium. There were five Gatling guns filled with paint balloons. They were designed to teach the students to learn how to deal with projectiles. If you were fast enough you could dodge, them. Jaune was training with his usual shield but instead of his regular sword, he held a linked baton. It was designed so that when you hit the turrets, you wouldn't destroy them. Replacing them was expensive.

Weiss watched as Jaune ducked and weaved his way through the hail of bullet fire. She had to admit he was extremely graceful and fast. At most she could handle two, maybe three, turrets shooting at once, but he looked like he was handling five, effortlessly. He ducked under a barrage of bullets, and then leaped up.

Weiss raised an eyebrow at the tactic. That would lead him open to fire, and he couldn't use his shield to block all of them. Jaune then did something strange. He kicked right foot under him. Weiss spied a glow under his foot, a tell tale sign of Aura being used.

'Is that?!' Weiss's eyes widened slightly as her interest skyrocketed. She watched as Jaune moved, _mid air_. He seemed to make a platform through Aura alone. And he changed his trajectory. The bullets cleanly missed him and Jaune sliced the turrets with ease. The baton would glow as it struck the turrets, deactivating them as it smacked the metal.

The heiress watched silently as Jaune panted, hands on his knees. She started to walk down, hoping to talk to him. Though her footsteps were quiet, he seemed to pick up on her presence easily.

"Hello there, Princess." Jaune hoarsely called out.

Weiss felt a small annoyance at the nickname. But, she also felt surprise at the sharpness of his senses. Did he hear her come in? Or was it when she was walking down? Weiss remembered Ruby mentioning that Jaune always seemed to know where they were.

"Hello Jaune. Quite the intense training." She spoke slowly. Gesturing towards the turrets.

Jaune shrugged. "If it's not intense, you won't improve. And in this business, You can't afford to be weak." He stretched his back and Weiss heard the popping of some joints.

It was quite cynical, coming from a first year hunter. Weiss knew that hunters were not naïve, well maybe Ruby was an exception. But, she also felt that Hunters were a source of hope. Strength to be relied upon. It didn't matter who you were before, what background you came from, if you were a hunter, you were Beacon of Hope.

Jaune grabbed a towel and wiped his face. And sighed as he walked over to the bench.

Weiss couldn't hold her curiosity anymore. "That move you did, in mid air." She paused. That move. It reminded her of... "It reminded me of my semblance. Of my Glyphs. How did you do that?"

Jaune, who had grabbed a water bottle, paused. "That?" Jaune took a sip of water. "A trick I picked up from a friend. But honestly" Jaune smirked at her, which made her annoyed at the blonde. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." With that, Jaune started to walk up the stairs, and towards the exit on the other side of the Arena. 'A week to go' Jaune thought to himself.

* * *

Jaune knelt in front of Beacon's statue. It was _the_ statue, that told them of their duty. Of slaying monsters, of protecting the people. 'Some monsters' Jaune thought as he scratched under the statue with his sword. 'are people.' Jaune sighed, as he sheathed his sword.

"Pyrrha, Whats up?" Jaune called out to the approaching red head behind him. 'Right on time.' He thought idly.

Pyrrha didn't stop awkwardly, instead stood right next to him. He looked over and found her green eyes staring straight into his. Jaune, for the first time in a long time, let his smile drop. There was no point, everything depended on today, so holding up a facade didn't matter. Well, it wasn't much of a facade. It was more like a repression. He held down his anxiety, fear, pain, grief, and everything else. He had learned, after so long, to smile. To be happy around them. Enjoy the moment with them.

"Jaune." She started, but she stopped, probably searching for the right words. He already knew them, but he let her speak anyways. "If you're not in class, you're training. If you're not studying, you're training. You barely talk to team. Sure you check in on us, check in on RWBY and even CRDL. But you're so distant."

She ran a hand through her head. "Sometimes I feel like you're a different person. You're not that silly, clumsy boy I first met."

Jaune chuckled as he remembered. "I have a lot of things on my mind. I needed to get better. Get stronger. Don't worry"

Pyrrha opened her mouth but Jaune finished her sentence before she even begun. "It's your job to worry and take care of your team." Pyrrha blinked as he took the words right out of her mouth. But she still felt a deep sense of fear for her team leader.

Seeing the worry on her face, Jaune grasped her shoulder. "Look-"

_Beep beep beep._ Jaune sighed. He took a deep breath and fortifying himself. 'it begins.' He looked towards his left, towards the entrance of Beacon and gritted his teeth. A familiar, terrible, horrifying, sight.

"Pyrrha go find Professor Ozpin. Beacon is under attack."

Pyrrha froze, her face marred in shock. "Jaune wha-"

"GO" Jaune growled and pushed her towards Beacon. He faced the approaching ships, sword now drawn. He looks straight ahead. Even as he hears Pyrrha running. Even as he hears loud cries and screams. He stairs at the ships bearing the symbol of the White Fang.

'And here we go.' Jaune sighed '6 minutes and thirty seconds to go.'

* * *

Jaune ducked under an axe swing, and slashed. His sword drawing blood. He heard the sound of gunfire on his right, and he back flipped backwards. Using aura to create a 'hop', his nickname for Weiss's technique. Semblances were unique, but with the right formation, the right manipulation, technique and so on, one could emulate. They would never be a tenth, even a percent of the original semblance power, but a good hunter could emulate them.

At first, Jaune had started using other people's semblance to get better, as a way to broaden his ability to fight. But then, after a while, after going back so many times, he started to use them to remember them. Remember Pyrrha's strength. Blake's duality. Weiss's elegance. Yang's fearlessness. _Her_ speed.

"Watch it." A voice called on his left. One of Roman's men, Axe men as he liked to call them, swung at him, but Ruby bashed his head in.

'She's...' Jaune looked at his watch, on his left arm. "you're 20 seconds early."

Ruby blinked in surprise. "What? Jaune what's-"

Jaune didn't respond, but instead put himself in between her and the White Fang member sneaking up behind her. He stabbed cleanly through the man's chest, and scanned the area for more attackers. More students and teachers were showing up, now. It seemed Pyrrha had listened this time, when he had told her to get Professor Ozpin.

"Jaune!" She cried out in shock. Probably surprised, or horrified, he had killed easily.

"Be careful Ru~" Jaune said, keeping his voice calm. It was important in the next few second that he calmed her down. If she was jittery, she would end up dead. "We are fighting for our lives. We cannot afford pity. Humans, Faunas, grim. They all can be monsters sometimes. And it is our job as hunters and Huntresses to fight them."

Ruby stared at him for a while, the gears in her mind turning.

"My my my. Well said" A silky voice called out to them.

Jaune gritted his teeth and cursed. 'She's early.'

Cinder, walked with her associates mercury and Emerald. Roman, Junior and the twins right behind her.

This wasn't good. Ozpin wouldn't be on the front lines till at least a minute later. He was contacting defense teams, and making sure evacuation plan were going underway. Goodwitch could get here in the next 30 seconds, but that was _sometimes_.

'Need to delay them.' Jaune yelled. "Everyone stay back, stay in defensive formation. Wait for back up."

He looked and saw, some students starting to group up and form defensive peremiters. Some of the teachers were coordinating them. He wondered when they had started listening to him. Maybe in the 5 minutes, he had been shouting and coordinating, but that didn't matter now.

"Ruby stay back." With that, Jaune charged forward.

Several White fang Members and Axe men moved to intercept them. A slice at his head. He ducked, and spun cutting into the attacker. Another tried to come from behind, he jumped to the right and stabbed behind him. Kicking in front of him, and crushing another man's face in, he used it as a platform to jump.

Jaune roared. Not as a battle cry, but to attract as much attention as possible. He needed to buy more time. Miltiades, the Red Claws, blocked his attack and smirked.

"Aren't you wild." A smirk, over confident.

Her sister, Melaine, came in from the side, swiping at him with her leg. Jaune ducked and kneed Miltiades, too fast for her to block.

"You bastard." Melaine screamed. The girl tried to cut off his head. Jaune blocked with his shield, and ended her with a swift stab.

"Jaune Watch out!" Another cry, from Ruby. Dammit, she hadn't listened to him. Ruby appeared in front of him and sliced a rocket that came from Junior.

"Ruby, get back!" Jaune watched as a multitude of rockets were being sent.

The two of them jumped back, avoiding each one. But, as each of them hit, it caused them, slowly, to lose balance. Ruby, to counter this, jumped high to get a better landing.

"NO!" Jaune screamed as he saw her jump. He reached for her. Not fast enough. Never fast enough. Always too slow. A thought in his head, clouded his heart. 'Not again'.

A gunshot. He heard it clear as day. Even with the explosions, the clanging of metals and screams, he heard that bullet that pierced Ruby's body. Ruby's jump seemed to stop and fall as if she had lost all force. She probably did when the specialized bullet had pierced her. Jaune bolted towards her.

'Dammit. Dammit all' Jaune thought as he grabbed Ruby out of the air. Moving backwards, away from the fight. He sliced off the head of a White Fang Member, before kneeling down on the ground, to assess the damage. He could feel the blood licking on his armor, not good. He looked over and felt a pinch in his stomach, the feeling of familiar dread. This damn, familiar feeling.

"It's going to be ok Ruby." his voice steady. He forced it to be. It was easier now, after all this time.

Ruby was dazed eyes searching for him, but he could see her pain. She was having trouble breathing. The bullet had went clean through one of her lungs. She would be suffocating soon, from the blood pouring in.

"My oh my." Roman crowed out. The smoking gun still in his hands. His slimy voice irritated Jaune. "Not even in despair over the death of little red. How cold you kid, I would have at least-"

He never finished his sentence as an axe was lodged in his head. Jaune shook his head as he retracted his hand. 'Never gets old, seeing him die.' Jaune thought as he looked back down at Ruby. Her eyes was still dazed. Jaune took a deep breath and called for his Aura. He surrounded both of them, just the two of them. He held her close, their breaths mixing. Her eyes, her beautiful silver eyes that he never got compliment, found him.

"J-jaune" She coughed. He pushed more Aura into her. Letting her say her final words. He had no illusions of saving her... yet.

"Jaune." She tried again. He placed his forehead against hers. Willing more of his Aura to go into her. Her breathing steadied, just a bit, but it was enough. "Jaune, It seems I messed up." Ruby coughed, blood hit his cheek, but he didn't move.

"Don't worry Crater face. Just rest." He whispered.

Ruby tried to laugh but he could feel her body shake in pain. "Jaune. Promise me." Ruby whispered, with all her energy. " Promise me to make the world a better place." Jaune moved his head slightly back and looked into her eyes. She had to _know_ what he was going to say.

"I promise Ruby. I will."

Ruby stared at him and gave him her bright smile. As if she wasn't dying, bleeding out in his arms. As if they were the only two in the world, at this very moment. Ignoring the fight around them, the screams, the gunshots, the fighting, and the pain. Just two of them at this moment, staring at each other.

She reached up and touched his cheek, blood smearing his skin slightly. "Jaune" Her voice barely reaching him. "Don't cry."

Jaune smiled, even as tears streamed down his face. He smiled at her, even as he saw her eyes start to close. "Don't worry Ru~. "Jaune said. His voice strong, even as she drew her last breath. "It's out of habit."

Her hand fell, and her body sagged in his arms. He laid her down gently and sighed. 'Time to go' Jaune thought to himself as he looked up at Cinder. She was sitting on one of the Broken pillars staring at him, giggling to herself. Jaune stood, grasping his sword tightly.

"My my my" She laughed, getting off her pillar. "Does the little knight want revenge? I want some too, you killed some of my best men."

And then. The world went quiet. There were no screams of pain. No explosions. Blood and metal flying through the air was washed away. Jaune didn't care about them anymore. He didn't care about anything anymore. Not even...

' Revenge?' Jaune laughed. He felt a tickling feeling in his stomach as he laughed. Revenge? Something as simple as that? Something so basic, rudimentary. So easy. Jaune roared with laughter, his body shaking as he did so. He stumbled slightly, as he heaved, almost out of breath. Jaune shook his head as he calmed down. He looked at Cinder, whose face seemed more subdued as she glared at him. She was tense, as if preparing for him to attack.

Attack? Now why would he do that?

Jaune smiled at her, giving her his best grin. "I could kill you. But that would take too much time. I didn't come back here for you. So, I'd rather just" He spun his sword in his hand as he lifted it. "See you later." He stabbed. The sword piercing his heart. A quick death. He felt his aura leave him as he fell towards the ground, lifeless. He closed his eyes.

And then, he opened them. He blinked, and lifted his head slowly from his pillow. Blinking slowly to get the blurriness out of his eyes, he looked around his room. _Their room_. Boxes and suitcases were tucked neatly on the side, waiting to be opened. They had just moved in, after getting assigned their team. Team JNPR. Jaune smiled as he got up from his bed. Nora was snoring softly, as Ren was ever still. Pyrrha was turned her sleep but didn't rise. It was early in the Morning, like always. Jaune grabbed his clothes, from the box at the side of their door. He got dressed silently as he replayed the events in his head.

'Ruby' A thunder shock went through his brain as he remembered. Jaune walked towards the window, and opened it silently. He climbed up on the ledge and jumped up high, letting his aura boost him slightly, a trick he had learned from Weiss, earlier. He grasped the ledge above him and continued to go up the side of the building. As he reached the roof, he saw the Sunrise. 'Still beautiful' he thought.

He sighed as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his school uniform. The blonde knight walked towards the other side of the building. He looked down and saw his spot. He jumped down quietly, letting his Aura surround his feet, creating a cushion. Landing silently on a tree branch, a specific tree branch, he knelt down against the tree trunk. He looked into the window, on his left, and smiled softly.

The red haired girl, tossed and turned, smiling. Her goofy face was scrunched up like she did when she was eating cookies. She was probably dreaming of them right now. Jaune chuckled to himself as he watched silently, the pain in his stomach, the familiar pain, slowly ebbing away.

After a few moments, Jaune nodded to himself, remembering it was time to get up and 'go to class'. He gave one last look to Ruby and smiled. The smile was pained, it was nostalgic, but it was for her. "I'll make it a better place Ruby. I will." He jumped up, towards the roof and back towards his room.

A small tear slid down his face, next to his smile.

* * *

**Time**

* * *

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" A chorus of cheers as they presented a baked cake towards the birthday boy. Jaune smirked as Ren blinked in surprise, having being ambushed in his room.

"I never told anyone my-" Ren started, looking a bit shocked at both RWBY and JNPR giving him well wishes. Ren looked over to Nora. "Did you tell them?"

Nora shook her head vigorously, smiling wide, while holding the cake. "Nope. Jaune did."

Ren looked over to Jaune with a raised eye brow. Jaune merely shrugged and nodded towards the cake. "Make a wish, Birthday boy." It was kind of funny, having Ren as the oldest. At least as of right now, Jaune thought to himself. Pyhrra's birthday was a month later. Before the...

Jaune pushed down the thoughts. He could continue to prepare and continue to work. For now, he needed to focus on his team, team RWBY, his friends, the people that mattered. Jaune put on a smile as Ren sighed, and leaned forward. He blew out the candles, 1 and 8. And the girls clapped, happily. Ren gave a wry smile. "Well, lets split it up."

Ruby, enthusiastic at the birthday and cake, unsheathed her scythe. Yang, quickly seeing her sister pull out her weapon, did the best thing to stop her. She grabbed her younger sibling's hoodie and pooled it over her quickly.

"Hey Yang!"

Yang shook her head in disbelief. "We're using a regular knife, put Crescent Rose away."

Jaune chuckled at the site, before taking out said regular knife. He cut the cake cleanly in half, and then into fourths, for each half. "Chocolate on one side," Jaune said motioning to the one on the left. "And the other one is Vanilla and Strawberry icing."

"Ohh" Pyrrha stared at the cake with a bit of awe and hunger. "Where did you get this?"

Jaune blinked and remembered, 'she's never had cake before.'

"Baked it myself." he said proudly. It took him a couple tries to make the cake just right, separating the chocolate and vanilla was _really_ hard but he finally figured out he should just bake two cakes. "There's extra so help yourself to a lot." He started handing out plates and forks, while stepping back to let everyone dig in. It was no surprise that the first cake had been filled up on people's place. The last piece of Chocolate left for him.

A warmth filled his chest, as he saw his friends laughing and smiling, eating. He placed the last piece on his place and dug in, savoring the sweet taste.

"Didn't know you could bake, Vomit boy." Ruby joked, her mouth slightly full of cake. Her hair was a bit ruffled due to her hood being roughly put on her.

Jaune shrugged. "A good habit to learn. I can make cookies too."

Ruby eyes went wide with shock. "Chocolate and Vanilla?"

"Oat meal and Sugar too."

The leader of RWBY jumped up and down excitedly. "Oh please please please, bake me some later!"

He let out a laugh, as the young girl, well, acted like a kid. "Sure, sure. Don't worry about it."

He looked over and watched as the other members of RWBY and JNPR mingled. It was around this time, that the two across the hallway neighbors got close. It was around this time, he started to spend a lot of time with...

"Hey Jaune." Pyrrha called, her plate now holding a second piece of cake. She smiled shyly, one of the few times he had seen her like that.

"What's up?" Jaune asked politely, though he already knew.

"C-could you make me a cake for my birthday?" Pyrrha flushed. "This is the first time I had cake." She asked in a low voice.

The first time he had heard it, he had gasped in shock. But now he just nodded and smiled. "What flavor."

"I don't want to inconvenience you." She said, "I mean, whatever flavor you think would be-"

"Pyrrha." Jaune stopped her. "It's your birthday. You get to choose."

Pyrrha paused and nodded, giving a more confident smile. "Well. I was hoping for an Ice cream cake? Maybe Vanilla or I heard of a flavor called Cookie and Cream?"

Jaune nodded. "Sure. No problem" The red haired warrior nodded happily and walked away, a bit of a skip in her step. 'Cookie and Cream it is' Pyrrha had really enjoyed that flavor when she tried it. She always asked for it when they went for ice cream, afterward. Weiss's birthday was about two weeks after hers, and she would want shaved ice.

Jaune placed his plate down as he started to collect some of the dirty plates. The girls were dragging Ren to start opening presents. Jaune smiled at them, and walked over to join them. Sometimes, he felt he was wasting time. Other times, he wished he could save these moments forever.

'One moment at a time.' He thought to himself. He could prepare for the fight later.

* * *

**Hunter**

* * *

"You know" Jaune sighed as he looked at the girl in front of him. "She means well."

The heiress huffed as she looked away. She tossed her scroll onto the desk. It clattered loudly against the table. "I don't care if she means well. She's annoying. We have to be _this_. We have to _be that._"

Weiss shook her head as she sat down. "I chose to be a huntress. I chose to do this. I want to do this?"

Jaune shrugged. "Sure."

"What!?" Weiss growled as she glared at the blonde. They had been talking about a homework assignment for History, when Winter called. Weiss's sister was _condescending. _She didn't approve of Weiss's choice to be a huntress, calling it a waste. Weiss angrily crossed her arms. "Do you think I don't want this? That I'm just-"

"Running away?" Jaune said. He shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. He dropped his pen on the stack of papers and sighed. "I really don't care why you chose to be a huntress in the first place."

Weiss chocked on her words. Her eyes filled with surprise and shock. "W-what? You don't care?"

Another shrug. "Anyone can choose to be a hunter or a huntress." Jaune looked out the window. He looked at the sky, clouds roaming about. Looked at the faces long gone and still to come. "And, most of them start out for the wrong reasons."

Jaune turned back, with a sigh. "I started out because I wanted to stop being a loser."

Weiss snorted. "Well, you obviously succeeded. You're top of the class."

Jaune shook his head. "And you probably started for the wrong reason too."

"Hey!" Weiss growled.

Jaune held up his hand, stopping her, and continued. "You didn't want to stay home. You didn't want to be under the shadow of your _perfect_ sister and your _angry_ father."

Weiss froze as he hit the nail on the head.

"You wanted to carve out your own name. You wanted to be more than _just a Schnee_ That's why you started out right?" Jaune said.

Weiss was silent. Looking down at her hands. Silence echoed through the room for a minute.

"Yea." Weiss whispered. A small tear fell onto her hands. "I guess I'm just-"

"Trying to help people." Jaune cut her off. Weiss looked up, her mouth slightly ajar. "You started out for a selfish reason. But, now it's something different. I know you've been researching Faunus and Human politics. I know you're trying to learn more about your company dealings." Jaune gave her a knowing smile. "Now, You're not running from anything anymore."

"But, I came here because-"

"Doesn't matter" Jaune shrugged again. "We all started for some dumb reason. But, as we keep going we grow up. Start making up new reasons for being here. And in a few years, we'll make a new reason. And after that, another one. It's just a matter of what we want."

Weiss stared at Jaune for a moment. A look of awe and realization across her face. Her shoulders loosened.

"And you?"

Jaune blinked, suprirsed. "What?"

"What do you want?" Weiss asked.

Jaune merely smiled again. "A lot of things."

* * *

**The Reason**

* * *

There are a few times when he almost had perfection. The 'perfect run', he liked to call it. He had done everything, at least almost everything, right. He had helped his entire team, got CRDL to actually be nice, and even got closer to RWBY. He had held off the joint attack of White Fang and Roman's Goons. He had even taken the fight to Cinder and stopped her in one of those climactic battles he was prone to.

But sadly, he messed up.

"JAUNE!" Ruby cried as she dashed towards him quickly. He could barely hear here, as he clutched his chest. He watched as Cinder, who was knocked out, being hauled away. Ruby had taken her down, while Jaune dealt with the goons. He knew Ruby could defeat her, he had trained the red haired girl himself. Teaching her all of Cinder's moves and how to get around them, really helped. Though he could remember the phantom pain of being hit by all of them, multiple times.

And he had gotten over confident. He wasn't paying attention to his fight. Mercury had stabbed him in the ribs, and Jaune had gotten serious after that. But he didn't realize that the dagger was poisoned. Velvet, sweet girl, tried to patch up the wound and try to heal him but it wasn't working.

Ruby quickly knelt down next to him and held his head between her hands. "Jaune. Stay with me. It's going to be ok. Just stay with me."

'Dammit.' He could feel himself slipping away. "Is everyone ok?" Jaune asked. Even though outwardly, he hoped that everyone indeed was ok. There was a small part in him. The sinister and, yet, tried part of him hoping that something was wrong. That there was something that needed to be fixed so that he would have to go back, would have a reason to let go.

Ruby rubbed her face, wiping away small tears and sweat. "No, everyone just fine. We're all ok."

Happiness and regret filled his stomach at the same time. The conflicting emotions swirling around him, like a whirlpool. How ironic was it, that his death, his idiotic and accidental death would make him fail once more. Jaune sniffed, he felt tears running down his side.

More people started to gather around him. Ren, Nora, Pyhhra, Yang, Blake, Weiss, all of them a bit older. All of them so alive, yet so sad. Jaune smiled for them. "I" He swallowed as he felt a sharp pain spread throughout his right side, where the blade had pierced. "I want to live so badly," He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut. "To live with you guys."

A cough, blood came out of his throat. "He opened his eyes and looked at everyone. All of his friends, comrades. The people he lived for. And now he was leaving, just as his goal was right in front of him.

"I love you guys." Jaune whispered.

Darkness covered him.

And then, he opened his eyes, and saw his room. _Their room_. He blinked for a moment, trying to reorient himself. He sat up, remembering the events of the previous cycle. 'So close' He thought to himself bitterly. He got dressed slowly, still remembering. Their School years. Their graduation. Their fight with Cinder.

A sickening wave hit him, and he almost fell to his knees. Jaune opened the window, and jumped out. Quickly, running away towards the forest, towards somewhere to be alone. When he was sure no one would hear him, he screamed.

Screamed profanities. Screamed at Mercury. Screamed at Cinder. Screamed at the sky and everything else.

So close. But never ever meant to be. Jaune did fall to his knees and sobbed. He couldn't do it anymore. He didn't want to be teased by this stupid goal, this impossible and utterly far fetched goal. After a few moments, he dried his tears and walked back to Beacon, hollow.

He had done nothing for a few months. He trained when he was supposed to. He beat down Cardin whenever they fought. He helped out his team, only a few times. He barely stayed in the room, barely talked to anyone. He just wanted to be alone for awhile. He leaned against a railing, on a balcony out looking the Beacon's main grounds.

He replayed the fight in his head. If he had just been more careful, just been a bit more faster. Jaune chuckled bitterly. Regrets, this was the epitome of everything he had experience. It was why he was going back every time. Because he regretted. Jaune laid his head in his arms and sighed.

These regrets were heavy.

"What's up Jaune." A voice called to his right.

Jaune looked over and saw Red hair and silver eyes. He gave a small smile, though his heart wasn't in it. It probably wasn't in anything anymore.

"Hey Ruby. Just thinking."

Ruby smiled at him. "Just wanted to check in. Ever since we got the relic, you've been acting strange." She caught herself and blinked rapidly, trying to rewind. "I-I mean. I don't know how you usually act but you've been distant. And I was a bit worried."

The knight smiled at the thought. "Don't worry about it. I just lost something really important. Just need some time to find it again?"

Ruby titled her head in concern. "Do you need some help? I'm an awesome searcher" She chirped happily.

At this, Jaune gave an actual smile. Ruby always cheered him up. "Nah, it's ok. By the way. What are you doing here? Don't you have training?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "Yang and the others are getting their stuff. I saw you, and wanted to talk. I already have Crescent rose on me." She patted her faithful scythe and gave a small peace sign, for victory.

"Always one step ahead?" Jaune asked teasingly.

Ruby smirked. "Heh. Comes with being a leader. Gotta think faster than the average person. Well most leaders?" She winked at Jaune.

Jaune gave a overly aghast look. "Are you saying I'm slow? I shall tell you, I thought really hard at fighting that Scorpion."

Ruby giggled as she leaned on the railing. "Oh come on, Pyrrha and Nora did all the work."

Jaune huffed. "Hey, I thought of it on the fly. Tactical leader right there."

Rolling her eyes, she fired back. "I used all 3 of my teammates in my fight. Ren made the opportunity for you."

Jaune sighed as he realized he had been beaten. He heard footsteps coming towards them. Looking at Ruby, he looked at how close they had gotten. Their breaths mingled slightly. He could smell her Apple scented shampoo.

They stared into each others eyes. Blue into Silver. Smiling at each other.

A thought in his head. More like a feeling and a push. "Hey Ru~."

Silver eyes blinked in confusion. "Ru?" A moment later she smiled once more. " Ok. Jau. What is it?"

Jaune smiled. "Sorry about this."

He heard the footsteps round the corner and made his move forward. "Hey Rubes. Lets go-"

He tasted cinnamon, a familiar taste. He could feel her stiffen as straight as a board. He pulled back, and gave a wide smile. A warmth filling his stomach. Filling a hole he knew had been gnawing at him, that had been sucking up his life.

'And there it is' He thought, happily. He looked at the red haired girl. Her face was almost as red as her hair. Her eyes as wide as can be, her lips still slightly open in shock.

"J-ja-jau" She stuttered. Her hands clasped together, she shook slightly. Though she didn't look affronted. Just shocked.

Jaune was about to laugh but he heard a very ominous sound to his right. The sliding of metal and locking of bullets. "Jauney boy." a voice called out, dripping with suppressed anger.

Jaune looked over and saw Yang, in all her fury. Her eyes were red, her hair was glowing with tints of flame. Weiss, on the other hand, was glaring at him and he could see her Rapier at the ready. Blake, the only one not preparing a weapon, had her Scroll out and had taken a photo of the kiss. She had a gentle smirk on her lips and she whispered good luck.

Ruby had noticed their company, finally. She waved her hands furiously. "I-it's not what it looks like sis. I mean. It is a-." She froze remembering the events again. "I mean." She tried to continue but to no avail.

Jaune couldn't help himself. "It was this." Jaune moved forward and planted one right on her lips, again. Ruby jumped slightly. And gave a small eep. "Jaune. Don't. Yang. Please don't. Weiss. Oh god."

Yang had finally lost it and screamed on the top of her lungs. "JAUNE YOU ARE DEAD!"

Jaune did the only logical thing, or at least what his body thought. He scooped up Ruby, holding her bridal style and jumped off the balcony. Layering his feet with Aura, he took off as soon as he hit the ground. He didn't get far when he heard a roaring crash behind him and a yell "GET BACK HERE!"

Jaune laughed as he ran faster across Beacon. It was after a few seconds of running did he notice Ruby's arm around him and her laughing as well. Her face still flushed but she was smiling, alive, and happy. He smiled at her and she returned it.

'This.' He thought to himself. As he dodged Ice and Fire. 'This is what I live for. Every moment of being with them."

Jaune jumped over a ice spikes, and ducked under a Flaming bullet.

Ruby giggled. "Maybe you should apologize before they really kill you."

Jaune smiled at her, and moved his face closer. "Maybe. But I really don't want to."

They both reached in for another kiss.

* * *

**Reset**

* * *

Jaune knocked twice and waited. This was number 34. Loop number 34, he needed to reset. It was the safety number, he and his associate came up with, when starting this whole thing. Before he turned 35 and before his 35th loop he needed to redo.

"Come in." A calm voice called through the door.

Jaune entered and nodded his head. "Professor Ozpin."

The silver haired man, stared at him for a moment, a coffee pot and cup at his side. His cane, more like weapon, was resting against the arm of his chair. He looked just like a Professor, but Jaune knew he was something more than that.

"Jaune Arc. A surprise for you to visit me." Ozpin clasped his hands in front of him. Probably trying to figure out why he was here. Ozpin liked to do that a lot, observe, find potential. He was one of the greatest trainers in Beacon.

Jaune stepped in and closed the door behind him. Walking straight forward, until he was near the older man's desk, Jaune stiffened as he let his face become more neutral, less amicable. "Project Signal."

Ozpin froze, or more like his face and features did. Jaune noticed the man reach for his cane, and his hand to a secret button for security. Jaune did nothing though, he knew what was going to happen next.

"You..." the headmaster trailed off. His mind working through the scenarios. Jaune said nothing, he knew it was better not to. "You have been sent back already haven't you."

A nod.

Ozpin sighed. "So we actually got that machine to work. And." he rubbed his temples. Shoulders sagged, at the realization of what that meant. "How bad was it?"

Jaune bowed his head. Remembering the first time. The _very_ first time. "We lost half of beacon. Most upper classmen were either dead or disabled. Some of the youger ones dropped out. Military came in and took the rest of the teams as special operation units. Beacon became a military school."

"Glynda must have made a fuss." Ozpin murmured. Though she was strict, she always did love children, and she wanted them to _be_ children for as long as possible.

Jaune winced. And Ozpin felt his stomach drop. "She.."

"Cinder." Jaune responded.

Ozpin looked away, taking a fortifying breath. "So," He continued after a moment reprieve. "I sent you back. And told you when you needed to do a redo."

Jaune nodded. "Yes." He had actually learned a lot more than that. "I also know how to complete the machine, and the settings necessary to send me back properly."

Ozpin chuckled, though it felt bitter. "Must have been hard."

"Harder than you can imagine."

Jaune never bothered with learning the math. But, he understood the concept. Turning Aura, your living essence the piece of your soul, and sending it like a messenger back to your past self. It was like sending an email, full of pictures, emotions, memories.

Ozpin stood and walked outside, "Come along then, we have work to do."

Jaune followed, allowing Ozpin to lead him towards the secret elevator underneath the Auditorium.

"What happened after the militarization of Beacon." a question out of curiosity.

Blue eyes darkened. "RWBY and JNPR and even CRDL became flagship teams. Sent out on more dangerous missions."

They walked into the auditorium, passing by students. None of them really payed much attention to the two.

"We did good for a while. We got used to killing... others." Jaune rubbed his face. He watched in the years that had come, the innocence slowly fading away. Every year, they started celebrating birthdays less. They celebrated being alive, making it out with fewer injuries. Ren had survived losing an eye. Yang had burn scars across her right side, from saving a Platoon. Ruby had a large scar across her chest, courtesy of Cinder. Himself, well, he had lost a couple fingers on his left hand.

"We did fine" Jaune continued. "You always came to check in on us. But one day." They entered the elevator. Jaune leaned against the interior. How many times had he told this story? _Very_, very few times.

Ozpin was silent, listening to his story. He always was.

"The final battle. Us versus them. We lost a lot. Too many. JNPR was pretty much gone, except for me. But I." Jaune blinked, remembering the horror. The pain of realizing of how much he had lost. "lost both my legs. And needed help breathing. Even my aura, couldn't heal me back up." That, hadn't been what tipped him. Losing his team, losing his friends. Losing her. He didn't talk to anyone for years.

"Team RWBY, TEAM CRDL were wiped out. Weiss made it out, her face was heavily burnt. Used her hair to cover it." Jaune shifted as the elevator stopped. He remembered the heiress, now leader of the Schnee company, coming into visit. attaching prosthetic, funding the project. and watched him go.

"You were there. And in the end, after a couple years of settling. You came to me. Said you figured something out. Brought me here, told me, taught me how to build the machine. Told me the numbers I needed to memorize. And sent me back."

Jaune looked at Ozpin. They stood at the bottom floor, near the bottom of Beacon. Ozpin nodded, his face impassive. But Jaune knew his mind was racing, knew the information he had just given was twisting his mind.

The elevator had opened up to a metal hallway. A large, heavily fortified door at the end. Ozpin walked forward silently, Jaune followed, his hands shoved in his pockets, looking down. It always made him feel _weak_ when he told this story, of how he failed.

Ozpin walked over to the door at the end of the hall way. And placed his hand on the door.

"Scanning" The computer called out. It's tone neutral. Dead.

The doors slid open silently, revealing a large machine, with wires strewn every which way. Several tool boxes were stacked on the right side, along with metal parts. There was even some boxes of Dust on the left, all of them of the _purest_ form. Pure crystal. These were the high grade kind, the kind that you could see through. They held _immense_ energy. One of them, if it was large enough, could probably power a city.

"So you know how to build it?" Ozpin asked.

Jaune nodded. "Your initial build was actually quite close. The frequency of it however, you took years to figure that out."

Ozpin nodded and stepped forward, bending down to grab a wrench. He stared at it, as if it was giving him all the answers.

"How many times?"

"What? Jaune asked. This question was new.

"How many times have you done this? Reset your little timer."

Jaune smiled. "In total." Jaune looked up to the ceiling. Where all his friends where. Above him.

"I'm older than Beacon now."

* * *

**Family**

* * *

He walked in quietly. No one was here. Good. He closed the door behind him, locking the door. The item in his pocket clunked loudly against his armor. His hands were a bit sticky from the blood. But he didn't care. He looked over to his goal and sighed. He grabbed a metal chair from the side and dragged it forward.

"You know. When you first chose me as your partner, saved me from falling to my death." Jaune sighed as he sat down. "I never would have in a million years thought you had a thing for me." Jaune chuckled as he clasped his hands together. He took a breathe and sighed. The cold air brushed his face as leaned back in his chair.

"When we went to the dance. And even after that, we were close. I loved to hang out with you." Jaune leaned against his hand. Nostalgia glowing on his face. "You never asked for anything. Always so nice, so helpful. But, after a while we both realized." Jaune chuckled as he remembered the day.

"We were more like brother and sister. Then actual lovers." Jaune sighed. "More like family, then anything else." Jaune grasped a hand, gently, lovingly.

"And we both took it in stride." Jaune murmured. "I hooked up with Ruby and you kept supporting me." Pyrrha was the one to push for them to get together. She had been the one to calm down Yang, when she had found out. Pyrrha even helped pick out flowers for Ruby. Jaune, back then, was a bumbling idiot when it came to dating.

"It's funny." Jaune chuckled. "We never said it. And maybe we didn't need to." Jaune closed his eyes, his grip tightened. "But, I loved you like a sister, Pyrrha. I loved you so much."

He held a cold hand.

"Thank you for everything." Jaune bit out, as he grabbed the item from his pocket. "Which is why..." Jaune leaned forward and kissed the cold hand, ignoring the blood that stained it. He heard banging on the door, voices yelling at him. They were trying to get in. He didn't have much time. Jaune smiled at Pyrrha. Her eyes closed. Body on a metal slab. Bandages over her chest, over the wound that caused her to bleed out. She looked peaceful.

"I'm coming back for you." Jaune whispered. "Because, a world without you in it. It's just not worth it."

Jaune lifted the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

* * *

**Dance**

* * *

Jaune waited quietly on the roof. Two more minutes before she would show up. She was usually consistent about it. Jaune had already 'anonymously' tipped Ironwood about Cinder. It would cue the invasion. While it was the most dangerous route, Jaune knew it was the best route to take. He had experimented with telling and not telling people. Tipping people off and not.

And over the many resets he had eliminated a couple possibilities. Leaving it how they were, doing the bare minimum was not enough. It took too long, and it made him weary, tired. It was dangerous then. Made him want to go over thirty five years. If he ever reached that point, Ozpin told him that the ties on his soul, the dust in his body, would lose grip. Make it impossible for him to reset. Ozpin never explained why thirty five, just that it was a safety number.

Jaune never forgot it.

Still, it wasn't like he was _tired_ of his friends. Their smiles, their happiness, naivete, hopes, and dreams. Seeing their faces alight, glowing, not marred by scars, pain, tears and blood. Sometimes he would catch himself staring at them. Just their faces. And realizing how lucky he was. He could see them. Touch them. Talk to them. When they should have been long dead. When he should have been long dead.

Maybe he already was.

But, It didn't really matter.

"Jaune?" A small, quiet voice behind him. One that made butterflies go through his stomach. One that made energy run through his veins.

"Ruby." Jaune turned around with a smile. The younger girl blinked and turned away, flushing slightly. He had called her up here.

"W-what is it that you want?" Ruby asked. Her voice stuttering slightly. She clasped her hands nervously and slouched slightly. Jaune adored the way she shuffled her feet, and bent her head. Moments like this, moments in time in his many loops that he was _here_.

Not thinking about the future. Nothing thinking about the loop. Not thinking about the mission.

Nothing, but here.

Jaune walked up to her, grasping her clasped hands. Gently breaking them up, and wrapping his fingers around hers. "Let's dance."

Ruby jolted slightly. "B-but I don't know how to da-"

"I'll guide you." Jaune whispered, as he slowly moved. Ruby, awkwardly, followed along. She stumbled on her heels sometimes, but Jaune caught her.

They moved quietly to silent music.

"Ruby." Jaune said.

"Yea?"

Jaune closed his eyes as he pressed his lips on her hair. As he tried to push his emotions through his lips. The warmth and ache in his chest. The shiver and heat in his limbs.

He looked back into her eyes. Gorgeous silver eyes.

Ruby smiled back at him. Gentle. Soft. Beautiful. Her voice was sweet.

"I love you too"

* * *

**Never Say Goodbye**

* * *

Jaune opened his eyes. He felt like crap. He blinked several times, to clear his blurry vision. He felt a heaviness on his right leg. He looked over to see Red hair, plopped on his leg, using it like a pillow.

Jaune snorted. He sat up slowly, not trying to wake her up. They had been dating for a while now, in this cycle. He had given up trying to avoid his teammates, his friends, her. Just went ahead and baked her cookies, till she agreed to go out on a date with him. He even let Yang punch him good.

'My left-' He couldn't feel his left arm. He looked over and found it gone.

'Well shit.' Jaune gently touched the bandages wrapped around his shoulder. A small stump where it used to be. A normal person would be gasping in shock and horror. He had fought so many times, woken up in the aftermath, and faced the results that he no longer cared.

'What's really important is' Jaune looked to the red mass, still on his right leg, snoozing. Jaune looked her over, not a single wound that he could tell. He had made an insurance policy. He had locked RWBY and JNPR's door before going out and fighting. It wouldn't stop them much but it would confuse the hell out of them.

Jaune smiled. He had taken the time, they had used to figure things out, to fight Cinder's invasion army head on. It was tough, but luckily Glynda and Ozpin had backed him up with the rest of the teachers. He had told Ozpin _well_ ahead this time. After a few more repeats, he was starting to get a bit more desperate.

He placed his palm on her head, feeling her silky hair under his fingertips. She stirred slightly under his hand. He heard a small mumble. "five more minutes"

Jaune gave a small chuckle. "Really now, I'm the one in the hospital."

Ruby jolted up in surprise. Her silver eyes met his and she smiled wide. "Jaune!"

Jaune leaned back in his pillow. "That's my name."

Ruby rolled her eyes. After a moment, her face turned into a frown and she shifted so she was sitting on the bed. "You locked us in. Both of our teams. Just so you could fight on your own."

"Not on my own. The teachers were there." Jaune pointed out.

She placed her forehead against his. Their noses brushed. He took in her scent. It always made him calm. Being around her. Made him strong. Drove him through these many cycles, loops, repeats.

"Not what I meant." She mumbled. Her hair brushing his face.

"Is everyone else ok?" He asked.

Ruby smiled, as she lowered he head and placed on his chest. She shifted, so that she was practically laying on him. She pointed to his right and Jaune saw an interesting scene.

Nora and Ren were laying side by side on one of the hospital beds. Pyrrha had commandeered one of the chairs and was using one of the pillows, to support her back. Weiss had taken to sitting upright in her chair, her arms crossed. Blake was sitting along the window sill. Yang, finally, was sprawled out on the ground, using the wall as a back rest. Jaune snorted at the scene.

But he could not help but be relieved. They were _all_ here. Each and every one of them.

"Good." Jaune said hoarsely. Tears starting to form in his eyes. It was finally over. He had gotten what he wanted. He had gotten his friends, his goal, his love.

"Is it Time to Say Good bye?" Ruby asked, preparing to get up.

Jaune frowned, before grabbing her, with his only arm. He wrapped it around his shoulders and pulled her in. "No. Never say Good bye again.." Jaune smiled as brought his face next to hers.

She leaned in and hugged back.

Jaune felt water rise in his eyes, again. He looked behind her and saw friends begin to rise. Everyone was here, he couldn't believe it.

Everything he had ever wanted.

And that was all that mattered.

* * *

**Explanation**

**So, all of the scenes you see here were originally supposed to be in the story. I didn't post them, originally, because I felt that they didn't fit the theme. Or, in the case of Weiss, the pacing was off. I have rewritten them to, hopefully, make them fit.**

**I wanted to explore the more meaningful relationships of Jaune in this story. I am a die hard Lancaster fan, which explains the pairing. That meant I had to address the Pyrrha relationship. I had make a bigger adjustment than I thought, due to season 2. **

**If you have any questions or comments on the story, drop a review.  
****Thanks for reading!**


End file.
